The weekend ended even for both teams, with Helena winning in Butte on Friday, and Butte returning the favor with winning in Helena’s rink on Saturday.
Friday’s game ended in a 4-3 win for Helena. Goals for Helena were scored by Harlan Wojtusik (Zach Turner, Tyler Alldredge), Derek Rassell (Lyndon Orr, Darby McCarthy), Zach Turner (Dylan Cunningham), and Andrew Deskin (Tyler Ownby). Helena goalie Marek Andres saved 40 out of the 43 shots against him in net.
Saturday’s game was Helena’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, where after the first goal is scored by the Bighorns, teddy bears are thrown onto the ice in celebration. It took just 4 minutes for Helena to get the first goal, and 13 boxes of teddy bears and toys were filled. The game didn’t end like Helena planned, with Butte scoring some late goals in the game, and taking a 5-4 win over Helena. Goalie Gabe Swanson for Helena saved 30 of the 35 shots against him, goals for Helena were scored by Cade Holland (Tyler Bloom, TJ Norris), Derek Rassell (Lyndon Orr), Joe Feamster (Cade Holland), and Tyler Bloom (Harlan Wojtusik). Mountain Gate Dental was the game night sponsor for Saturday’s game, and they offered to donate $100 for every Bighorns goal scored on Saturday to Toys For Tots. They went above and beyond that and donated $100 for each goal scored by both teams and wrote a check for $900.00 to Toys For Tots!
The Bighorns will now hit the road this week, and make their way to Blaine, Minnesota for the NA3HL Showcase. They will play the Oregon Tradesman on Sunday, December 18th, the Texas Brahmas on Monday, December 19th, and the Norwich Sea Captains on Tuesday, December 20th. You can catch these games live at Buffalo Wild Wings in Helena.